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Sunday, August 26, 2012

Nemesis tendrils unstoppable

As 08.012M42 came to an end the tendrils of Nemesis were active on four worlds. With Alphe consumed, the distant nodes of the hive fleet seemed to grow more agressive, as the tyranids launched assaults all over the sector. On New Sparta, more of the world came under the control of the alien menace as a horde of ravenous beasts exterminated all before it. Even the summoning of a host of daemons could not halt the tide, although Lorek's forces did give the tyranids pause for thought, allowing him to extract his forces from certain annihilation. The front line was pushed back, but New Sparta was far from defeated.

Meanwhile in the Perseus Deeps, Nemesis had established a toehold on the Tau sept world of Parius. The Eldar quickly realised that what had begun as a minor incursion could easily snowball into a full invasion with the potential of drawing the main body of the Tyranid Hive Fleet into the Persius Deeps. If the Tau and Federal worlds there came under threat it would divert resources away from combating the Necrons and drastically weaken their new allies strength in the deeps.

Anxious to nip this new threat in the bud the Eldar sent a war host to the aid of the Tau and the two allies made their stand side by side. As the Tyranids swarmed forwards they took heavy casualties from the combined fire power of the alliance. The first wave made it to the Tau positions, but so badly weakened it was held off before Eldar Harlequins moved in to put down the survivors.

Realising that its foes strength came from unity Nemesis abruptly adapted its tactics. As the Tau were distracted by a massive Trygon bursting up from amidst their positions Nemesis directed its full fury against the Eldar. Overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught the Eldar suffered horrific casualties, leaving the Tau isolated against the Tyranid swarm.

Realising their precarious position the Tau immediately launched a desperate counter attack, catching Nemesis out of position before it could bring its full might to bare against them. The Tau succeeded in punching a hole through the horde arrayed against them and it seemed as if they might hold out yet, but with the Eldar resistance now collapsed and their own casualties mounting the Tau faced being cut off and destroyed by the rest of the Tyranid host which now threatened them from all sides. The Tau hurriedly withdrew their remaining forces, preserving their strength until an effective counter attack could be mustered.

Unknown to the Tau, the dark eldar were also battling the tyranids on Parius. They knew Parius was the site of a webway portal, and were desparate to avoid the aliens finding it, lest their own city of Commoragh come under direct attack. The dark eldar, their former brethren already in action on the world, took action themselves, ambushing Nemesis as it approached the portal. The tyranids fought back ferociously, and massacred the would be ambushers, drawing the attention of the intelligent hive mind to ponder why the dark eldar had attacked. To the horror of the dark eldar, Nemesis began scouting out the hills near where the webway portal was located, anxious to find what the kabals of Commoragh had been so desperate to hide.

Back in the Zadoc subsector, the force of tyranids on the barren planet had multiplied over several months, and now launched another huge attack against the orks. Warlord Uzfang's boz were there to meet the invaders, and summoned the green tide against the hive mind. Deploying all manner of contraptions, vehicles and even orks riding a Squiggoth, the orks gleefully went into battle. This soon degenerated into slaughter as the two forces barrelled into each other, but after several hours it became clear that although Nemesis had taken casualties, the ork army had been obliterated. The remaining orks quickly fled back to the outer defences of the fort itself, ready to make their stand against the all consuming tyranid menace.

With hive fleet Nemesis advancing on all fronts, inquisitor Huron began to raise a force to investigate the source of the invasion. He had worked out it had come from the Hadron Expanse, and a lower rank inquisitor in his service had already deduced much which wasn't right about the hive fleet. Huron resolved to track down the hive fleet to its source, perhaps learning enough about Nemesis to find a way to stop it before the entire sector was consumed.